Glass ceiling is breached

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The appointment of Don Thompson as the next chief executive of McDonald’s will make the 22-year veteran of the fast food industry one of the most powerful black businessmen in the United States.

Mr Thompson, 48, will join a number of black chief executives in America’s boardrooms as the corporate glass ceiling that civil rights campaigners argue has held back many minorities finally appears to be breaking.

Kenneth Frazier runs the drugs company Merck, and Ursula Burns is the chief executive of Xerox. American Express, Aetna and Delphi Corporation also have African-American bosses.